Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41005164›Full record

ArticleThe Science of the total environment2025

Public risk perceptions of advanced water purification in an arid urban region of the U.S. southwest: A mixed methods study.

Amanda M Wilson, Yoonhee Jung, Mohammed Shafae, Nana Adwoa A Amoh-Asante, Ahamed Ashraf, Hunter Quon, Kerry A Hamilton, Dawn Morrison, Lance Larkin, Kerri Hickenbottom and 5 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The Science of the total environment, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Amanda M WilsonDepartment of Community, Environment & Policy, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA. Electronic address: amwilson2@arizona.edu.
Yoonhee JungDepartment of Community, Environment & Policy, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Mohammed ShafaeDepartment of Systems & Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Nana Adwoa A Amoh-AsanteDepartment of Community, Environment & Policy, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Ahamed AshrafDepartment of Community, Environment & Policy, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Hunter QuonSchool of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA; The Biodesign Institute Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
Kerry A HamiltonSchool of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA; The Biodesign Institute Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
Dawn MorrisonU.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, Champaign, IL, USA.
Lance LarkinU.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, Champaign, IL, USA.
Kerri HickenbottomDepartment of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Water and Energy Sustainable Technology (WEST) Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
A Eduardo SáezDepartment of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Luisa A IknerWater and Energy Sustainable Technology (WEST) Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Department of Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Walter BetancourtWater and Energy Sustainable Technology (WEST) Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Robert A NorwoodWyant College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Andrea AchilliDepartment of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Water and Energy Sustainable Technology (WEST) Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.

Funding

SOUTHWEST ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES CENTERP30ES006694 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA · PI George S Watts · 1994 to 2026
$36.7M
Work-related Asthma Risks for Nursing Staff Conducting Cleaning and Disinfection: Translation of Risk-risk Tradeoff MethodologyK01HL168014 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA · PI Amanda Marie Wilson · 2024 to 2026
$435k
NHLBI NIH HHS K01 HL168014NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES006694
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

As water utilities implement potable reuse technology, there is a need to understand how to increase public acceptance and trust in public water supplies. The study objective was to use surveys and interviews in a large metropolitan area in Arizona to characterize tap water and advanced purified water acceptability, and factors contributing to (un)acceptability. Participants were recruited through a water utility email listserv for participation in an online REDCap survey and/or 1-hr Zoom interview. Surveys and interviews inquired about perceptions of tap water safety, familiarity with water reuse terms, acceptability of direct potable reuse (called "advanced water purification" in our study for consistency with state messaging), and rationales related to acceptance. Four hundred seventy-nine individuals participated in the survey, and twenty-two individuals participated in the interviews, with roughly comparable demographics for our city of interest but with slightly higher levels of household income and education. Only 36 % of survey respondents use their tap water for drinking water supplies, but (42 %) would be open to drinking advanced purified water. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2024 on risk-based thinking to evaluate how advanced purified water may compare to current drinking water safety and analyzed with inductive thematic analysis. Survey and interview participants wanted more reassurances (e.g., third party testing and opportunities for hands-on testing). Water utilities should prioritize transparent communication strategies, including sharing detailed third-party testing data and direct community engagement initiatives, to enhance public acceptance. Utilities can build trust through clear comparisons between advanced purified water and current tap water quality.

Indexed as

Public OpinionWater PurificationWater SupplyArizonaDrinking WaterFemaleHumansSurveys and QuestionnairesDrinking WaterAdvanced water purificationMixed methodsPublic acceptanceRisk perceptionSustainabilityWater reuse

Identifiers

PMID41005164
PMCPMC12535410

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.